# 3.3. Linux: Installing on Top of a Debian/GNU Linux Distribution

An important note before you start: Due to various problems arising from the Linux filesystem standard, building .deb packages is very complex. Therefore, you will probably not find the most current version. If you want to see the newest in KDE development, we have to recommend you to get the source distribution (see Using TGZ to install on top of other systems for details).

Retrieve the following files in order to get KDE installed on your Debian/ GNU Linux system. You can find them in /pub/kde/unstable/distribution/dpkg.

- libgif2_2.3-1_i386.deb

- libkde0_0.10.01-1_i386.deb

- kdeapps_0.10.01-2_i386.deb

In addition, KDE requires components from the following packages. Make sure they are installed before beginning the KDE installation:

- qt1.42

- libjpeg6

- libg++27

- We highly recommend that you install the debian menu package before installing KDE (it makes kpanel much nicer).

To install kde use dselect or do it manually using the following:

     dpkg -i libgif2_2.3-1_i386.deb
     dpkg -i libkde0_0.10.01-1_i386.deb
     dpkg -i kdeapps_0.10.01-2_i386.deb

If dpkg gives dependency errors, you'll have to find the packages, listed above, upon which KDE depends, install them, then rerun the dpkg commands.